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Taichi Mashima
Taichi Mashima '(真島 太一 ''Mashima Taichi) is the son of Reiko Mashima, the older brother of Rika Mashima and one of the childhood friends of Chihaya Ayase who is an all-around student as he is gifted in both studies and sports, although his mother pressures him to stick to competitions that he can easily win. He is part of the Shiranami Karuta Society and the former president of the Mizusawa Karuta Club. Appearance Taichi is a handsome and attractive young man, (which makes him popular with girls) with messy light brown hair (shorter and neater hair when he was younger) and hazel eyes. He wears his school uniform which is a simple white button-up shirt, a plaid tie, a brown jacket with the school crest, a black belt, grey dress pants and brown school shoes. When he is serious playing karuta, just like Arata Wataya with his 'water' aura and assumable Chihaya Ayase with her 'fire' aura, Taichi got the 'wind' aura when he's calmly and yet seriously playing karuta. As part of his preparations for the Meijin/Queen qualifier finals, he had his hair cut short again, to the same length he had as a young boy. Personality Taichi is a smart, hard-working and athletic guy who was cocky at times, but he was also a bit of a coward during his younger years. Reiko Mashima (Taichi's mother) has only allowed him to enter competitions that he's sure to win. If he loses, he will be scolded by her, but he is easy-going and fairly modest despite this. However, Taichi is somewhat easily disheartened: he considers giving up karuta early on in the series after becoming convinced that he could spend his entire life on the game without ever becoming better than Arata Wataya. His confidence builds, however, with his continued participation in the world of karuta, and it is shown that it is his own perception of his skill in karuta that is holding him back. Taichi's maturity and loyalty are valuable assets to his friends, and he is adept, after a few initial stumbles, at saying to his teammates exactly what they need to hear in moments of stress. He is the "voice of reason" in whatever group he is in, and a wise and kind leader who is not averse to doling out some tough love (particularly with respect to Chihaya Ayase). His memory is also remarkable: he can recite the Hyakunin Isshu without visual aid, and randomize verses without doubling up. He even showed he can match cards without having to see them once he's memorized their positions. Despite being all said and done, everything he had gained was purely because of his skill, not because of his luck - more like he is not lucky in anything. Throughout the series, there are a few times where it is stated about Taichi's bad luck. Also because of this, he has had a hard time winning in luck-of-the-draw. History Taichi used to go to the same grade school as Chihaya and was the smartest in their class. He used to tease Chihaya which led her to attack him. They were good friends, but when Arata arrived, he was annoyed that he wasn't the only one that had memorized all of the Hyakunin Isshu. He tried to get Chihaya's attention and threatened to not be her friend anymore if she stands by Arata's side. Because of this, everyone ignored her - per Taichi's orders - the next day for associating with Arata. He later challenged Arata to the karuta competition they were having at their school. On the day of the competition, his mother was there holding a camera to film him during the match as she believed he would win as usual and tried to encourage him to win. Taichi won all his matches and made it to the final against Arata. In order to win, and not get scolded, he cheats by giving Arata a shaken soda to spray him, in order to make him wash his face and take off his glasses. He steals Arata's glasses while he is washing his face and Arata only catches his small figure. Chihaya and Arata start searching for them, but they don't find the glasses for Arata's match. During the match, Taichi is beating Arata as he switches the cards, but is then interrupted by Chihaya saying that she'll replace Arata in the match. He is eventually defeated by Chihaya and all three of them win an award. Even so, he still gets yelled by his mother and his mother tells him never to participate in a competition that he cannot win at. After the competition, Chihaya goes out looking for Arata's glasses. While she is away, he admits to Arata that he was the one that stole the glasses and hands them to Arata. They later go out to look and call out to Chihaya to tell her that they found them. Chihaya hears them from the branches of a tree and jumps down on top of them, laughing. Since then, Taichi, Chihaya, and Arata became good friends and referred to each other by their first names, signifying they are very close friends. They even joined a Competitive Karuta Society with their teacher being Harada-sensei and participated in a group competition. The three of them then went their seperate ways in Junior High School with Taichi going to a Junior High School with a one-and-a-half hour commute that most students found difficult to be accepted into. Synopsis Karuta Style Taichi's initial style of karuta is all brain, with little body. He makes great use of his mind in karuta matches, reasoning out probabilities and strategies completely in his head, and takes great pride in the fact that he makes few, if any, faults. He considers practicing his swing in front of others "embarrassing", which disadvantages him in the more physical aspect of karuta. However, spurred on by his desire to compete on par with Arata and Chihaya, he vastly improves in the later part of the manga. He has been called a "monster" once he has self-confidence (by Sakurazawa-sensei, coach of Fujisaki High), and it has been noted by Hiro that Taichi becomes stronger when Chihaya is not around (Chapter 94). Notably, when he managed to get to final of his very first Class-A official tournament beating Sudou in the top 8 and Murao in the top 4. He lost to Chihaya in final match but all that witness the match admit that both Chihaya and Taichi are both had proven to be great karuta players. *note that chihaya took a break in top 4 because her opponent forfeit the match, while taichi need to beat Murao for the final spot* . Harada-sensei who watched the match carefully said Taichi is more suited to play defensive style karuta instead of offensive style karuta which Chihaya and Harada-sensei specialized in. Also noted how good is Taichi when he played against Chihaya with an arrangement which is different from his normal one. In chapter 150, Taichi (who had quit the school karuta club) was seen to be playing a lot of matches against Meijin Suou. Also, there's a rumor about how Taichi can hear Suou's quiet and gentle voice loud and clear, showing that he has better and sharper hearing now. Techniques & Talents '''Perfect Memorization - As the name implies, it's the perfect memorization of all the cards' positions, the cards that have been read, and those that haven't been read yet. Other karuta players may have this skill, but their memory is still not as perfect as Taichi's, considering Taichi's memorization is 100% while the others' only up to 80-90%. However, due to this skill, Taichi tends to make silly mistakes since he can still remember the arrangement of his previous matches. -Another application to this skill of his is that he can use any other card arrangement and still fight normally. Other players can't memorize as well as Taichi so they tend to use a fixed card arrangement and let their body remember where the cards in that arrangement are. They would commit lots of faults if they used other arrangements, unlike Taichi. Cross-Sweeping Move Neutralizer -So far, Taichi has only used this move once against Arata Wataya. Obviously, this move was created purposely to negate Arata's fast sweeping technique. This move uses covering and sweeping, in which Taichi would first cover the card that would be read; therefore 'kill' the opponent's speed and momentum, making him hesitate for a while; then sweep the correct card. Katana Slash Backswing -This is actually Akito Sudo's specialty in which the player would go for the opponent's field. Depending on which card that would be read, the player can either go ahead and attack the card or go back to touch the correct card on player side. This is different from normal kinds of backswings because the player need to be slightly away from the side of his hand. As in Taichi case, it would be his right side. By doing so, the player can attack the opponent field and if the correct card is in his side of the field, he can make his hand into a knife-like shape and use a backswing to defend the card. By distancing himself from the his defending side, he can touch the card comfortably and by making his hand into a more streamlined stance, reduce the air resistance and make the backswing faster. Counter Data Analysis -Using the data he or Tsutomu Komano collected from his opponent, he would then analyze and think of a way to counter his opponent's play. Taichi used this against Chihaya Ayase in the Yoshino Society Class A match where he used a different card arrangement from what he usually used. It proved to be working well although he lost to Chihaya in that match with just a 2 cards difference with an exhausted condition. In that match, many can see that a lot of mind tricks involved. He also made and used the sweeping move canceler against Arata Wataya, who is known for his fast sweeping ability. Peculiar Defense -A copy from Ryoga Emuro's specialty. This technique is used to defense a card even if the swing is delayed or slower. Taichi used this technique against Shinichi Murao in Yoshino Society Tournament's semi-final. This move is used to sweep cards out of the field. The difference between sweeping move and this move is sweeping move used whole hand to sweep a bunch of cards out, but this move only used 1 finger to sweep the correct card and send it out. The difference would be sweeping bunch of cards will consume more time but sweep just 1 particular card with just 1 finger will reduce the time taken to sweep the card. Enhanced Hearing -This refers to the recent chapter of 150 where Taichi managed to hear Hisashi Suo's quiet voice, which is hardly heard by other people with normal hearing sense. Relationships Family Reiko Mashima Reiko is Taichi's mother who has been very strict and stern as she tel's Taichi "You can only join competitions you know you'll win." ever since elementary school. Currently, Mrs. Mashima is against Taichi playing karuta, saying it's a waste of time and effort. If Taichi does not stay the top student, she will prohibit him from playing karuta. Friends Chihaya Ayase Chihaya is Taichi's childhood friend who has feelings for her as he tells himself he is in love with her and the started the Mizusawa karuta club together. In the past, it was shown that Taichi had feelings for Chihaya during grade school by often teasing her and getting jealous whenever she was with Arata. He has nurtured those feelings until recently, when he finally confessed his love to Chihaya. Unfortunately, she rejected him and this leads to him leaving the Karuta club. Arata Wataya Taichi and Arata were childhood friends. At first, he didn't like Arata because he memorized the poems in his first try, also he challenged Arata again in a karuta competition and took his glasses to stop him from winning against him. But Chihaya took Arata's place and defeated Taichi. After he admitted that he took his glasses, they went to look for Chihaya. Soon after he began getting interested in karuta and his dream was to become a meijin. They also teamed up with Chihaya in another karuta competition, but lost. Since Arata was sick, he lent his hat to him. Others Kasumi In the beginning of the series, Taichi had a girlfriend named Kasumi '''(香澄) (as revealed in the Light Novel 4) who had met her during Junior High School while he had been struggling to keep his passion for Karuta after several set-backs and she called him 'Ta-kun', but he has feelings for Chihaya Ayase despite this relationship. In Episode 1, he told Chihaya that he was only dating her because she liked him but as we found out in the Light Novel 3 the other reason for them dating was that she was filling the gap in his heart that Karuta left once he had quit playing. In Episode 17/Chapter 29, he breaks up with her over the phone in a short and dry exchange. Rieko Oe Taichi met Rieko at a match where the Oe Traditional Clothing Shop was providing the Mizusawa team with hakamas. She seems to think that Taichi is 'very cute' and always rushes around him to fix his hakama. Hisashi Suo Hisashi is Taichi's cram school teacher who is the current reigning Meijin. While everyone in the Karuta world seems to have a scorn toward Suo for his Karuta style calling it 'nasty' and 'sick', Taichi doesn't. On the contrary, he seems to like it by saying that he 'can't help but finding that style fascinating'. They had a rocky start because Taichi claimed that Chihaya was his girlfriend and asked Suo to stop his advances on her, much to Suo's dismay, who used to say he's not obliged to do anything that Taichi says because he hates him. Taichi always came prepared with sweets to bribe him with, though, and confessed his lie about Chihaya and cleared the air between them. Suo showed, on more than one occasion, that he's interested in Taichi's Karuta, interestingly enough calling him a 'nasty player'. Later on when he found out Taichi quit Karuta, he told him that he admires him, for even though he doesn't like Karuta he still tried his absolute best in it, and admitted to not liking Karuta either. Suo and Taichi are last seen practicing Karuta together. Official Matches Records Quotes * (To himself, about love) "You aren't happy even if you're with them. It makes me nervous. Nothing happened like I thought it would. It isn't fun. But I still want to be with them." * (To Sumire Hanano)"It doesn't seem right to let a girl choose me. I would rather choose the girl I devote myself to." * (To himself) "If Arata were here... If Chihaya were to practice with Arata instead of me, would she become a better player?" * (To Tsutomu Komano) ''"I don't have any talent for karuta either. It's tough, but I still play! I keep losing, but I still play! Because when I win, I feel happy!"'' * (To Tsutomu) "Instead of a karuta genius, I would rather have our new member be someone who puts in effort on the tatami." * (''To Yusei Nishida) ''"Chihaya never gave up on karuta. Why don't you see for yourself how strong someone can be when they put in the effort? Or are you scared of losing?" * (To Chihaya Ayase) "As long as you have a smile on your face, karuta will always be fun. That's the truth, Captain!" * (to himself) "Chihaya...we'll have plenty of chances to try to become Master and Queen, but we only get to play as a team during our three years in high school." * (To Hisashi Suo) "Do not break with words someone you could not break with your play!" * (To Sumire Hanano) "I myself have been wondering since I was a kid why was I given this name... My mother does seem like someone who would choose something unconventional and posh for a name, and yet..." * (To himself) "I wonder if I managed to get stronger?" * (To Chihaya) "I've always, always wanted to become a person who is not a coward." * (To Chihaya) "Are you under the impression that I'm made of stone?" * (To himself) "Those encouraging words and those days we spent together turned into a curse, and I can't leave it like that. I can't keep living like that." * (To Hideo Harada) “Teacher, I’m not much focused on making Class A as I’m focused to become someone who doesn’t run away.” * (To himself) "Now that I've separated myself from the team and am alone and on my own, for the first time in my life I'm actually having fun playing Karuta." Trivia * The name 'Taichi '''means "thick, big" (太) ('ta) and "one" (一) (ichi). *Taichi's surname Mashima 'means "real, genuine" (真) ('ma) and "island" (島) (shima). *Taichi is good at all subjects. * When Taichi was 13, he was jealous of Arata Wataya because Chihaya Ayase was bonding with him. * Taichi made flash cards to help him memorize the 100 poems. * Taichi has recited the 100 poems in random order during a practice karuta match as the reader for it. * Rika Mashima once asked him if he was a narcissist. * Taichi somewhat dreams of becoming a doctor one day, but isn't sure yet. * Taichi is more focused on being someone who doesn't run away rather than being in class A. * Taichi once thought that karuta is scary while watching Chihaya play against Yumi Yamamoto, an ex-queen. * Taichi put Arata in charge of taking care of Chihaya after she fainted in episode 13. * Hideo Harada calls him "eyelashes" (まつげくん matsuge-kun) because of his long eyelashes, though the English subtitles always seem to mistake this for "eyebrows". * In the anime, many girls think Taichi is cute, even Rieko Oe (Kanade Oe's mother). * Taichi's favorite poem from the Hyakkunin Isshu is Poem #16: "Note that though we may be apart, if I am to hear that you pine for me as the Inaba mountain pines, I shall return to you.' '" * In Chapter 119, Taichi lied about Chihaya being his girlfriend to Hisashi Suo (the Meijin), but he told him the truth in Chapter 122. * In the light novel 1, it is stated that Taichi quit karuta after winning a class C tournament and advancing to class B and beat Chihaya in a luck of the draw in the previous match, thus somewhat messed of some of his statements in the manga and the anime that he'd never once won against Chihaya properly in a match before. * Taichi won second place in his first official class A tournament, and note that he's had class A skill approximately one year before actually being class A (by placing second in two class B tournaments). * Taichi's age is officially 18 years as of Chapter 193. References __FORCETOC__ Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Karuta Player Category:Main Character Category:Featured Articles Category:Student Category:Shiranami Karuta Society Category:Mizusawa High School Category:Mizusawa Karuta Club Category:Protagonists Category:Allies Category:Family